A Long December
by Starcrossedsoulmates
Summary: Literati. Post Season 6 – slightly AU, future fic. One month, a lifetime of changes. Maybe this year will be better than the last.
1. Rain King

A Long December

Chapter 1: Rain King

Author: Starcrossedsoulmates

Rating: PG-13, possibly R later

Disclaimer: I don't own the show, the characters or the song titles. Rest assured that if I did own the show or the characters, Season 6 and 7 would've gone a whole lot differently.

Summary: Literati. Post Season 6 – slightly AU, future fic. One month, a lifetime of changes. Maybe this year will be better than the last.

A/N: The title is based on "A Long December" by the Counting Crows. Each chapter will be a song title, but all of them may not be from Counting Crows.  
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_A long December and there's reason to believe  
Maybe this year will be better than the last  
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_

Rory Gilmore threw money at the cab driver as she sprinted for shelter from the rain.

Feeling very much like a wet dog, she shook the water from her hair and clothes as she entered the nearest building. Looking around, she noticed that it appeared to be a small coffeeshop-type restaurant which was, luckily, fairly devoid of customers.

"Stupid rain, stupid me forgetting my umbrella. God, I hate the city when it rains," Rory muttered to herself.

"Table for one, miss?"

Rory looked up to see a waiter approach her with a menu. She graced him with a smile and responded, "Oh, well, I'm not really hungry. I just needed a dry place for a while."

"Sorry, ma'am, but we have a 'customers only' policy for being in here, so you either have to order something or head back out into the downpour."

"Well, do you have coffee?" Rory asked as she weighed her options of being dry and warm vs. soaked to the bone.

The waiter gave her a smirk as he led her to a table by the window. "That just happens to be our specialty. Any kind of flavor combination you can think of, we got."

Rory placed her order and looked out at all the people with their umbrellas and raincoats as they hurried about the city. Almost right on cue, as she was starting to lose herself in her thoughts, her phone rang and interrupted her. Without even looking at caller ID, she answered, "What is it now, Mom?"

"I was just watching the weather channel and saw all the bad weather you guys are having in New York. I just wanted to check on you and make sure you were safe and doing okay."

"Who are you and what have you done with Lorelai Gilmore? I have never, in all my years, known you to even be aware that the weather channel was a station on TV."

"Yeah, well, Luke was watching this show about stories of storm chasers, and I got hooked. It was only after the show was over that I realized what channel I was watching, but by then it was too late. They reel you in with the cheesy muzak, and there's always something on. They rarely have commercials about boring things, and it's hard to escape, and before you know it, you've watched the 'local weather on the 8's' for an entire hour."

Rory laughed at her mother, "Only you could find something like the weather channel fascinating. And in answer to your question, I'm fine. I'm actually sitting in a coffeeshop right now, waiting out the storm."

"And if there was any doubt that you are, in fact, my child, you completely did away with it with that statement."

"There's gotta be undeniable proof somewhere."

There was a pause in their conversation, and Lorelai cautiously approached a potentially uncomfortable subject.

"So, kid, how are you really?"

"Fine, Mom, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, have you told him yet?"

There was no answer from the other side for a few minutes.

"Rory?"

"Yeah, I'm still here."

"Well?"

Another few seconds and then Lorelai heard her daughter mumble something under her breath.

"You have to speak up, hon. Mommy's not getting any younger and neither is her hearing."

"I'm telling him tonight."

"Wow…not a moment too soon, huh? After all, the wedding is scheduled for New Year's Eve."

"I know…I just…I feel…so…I don't know…torn, I guess?"

"Rory, you don't love him."

"I know, but…"

"No 'buts'…remember what you told me over Thanksgiving a week ago? You don't love him. He doesn't deserve to be married to someone who doesn't love him, and you don't deserve to be married to someone you don't love. It's better to get out of it now than to go through the whole wedding and all the trouble of getting a divorce."

Once again, she was met with silence on the other end.

"Rory, you gotta start answering me, hon. I'm having to check my phone every couple of seconds to make sure I didn't lose the connection."

Rory sighed and took a deep breath, "I know, I know…you're right. I just don't like hurting people. He's a good guy, and he treats me like a princess, he's just…"

"Not the guy for you?"

"Yep, that's pretty much it exactly. Oh, Mom!!! I just thought about Grandma and Grandpa!! How upset are they going to be when I tell them I'm not going through with the wedding!! This was Grandma's dream wedding, and Grandpa was happy with me accepting Logan's proposal, and now they're going to be devastated! I'm a horrible person!! Not only am I hurting Logan, but I'm hurting Grandma and Grandpa, too!!"

"RORY!! Calm down! Take a breath. Neither Adolf nor Ava is marrying Logan. They might be a bit…upset, but you have to know that they love you. They love you more than they love their own daughter, and after they get over the initial freak out, eventually, they'll come to realize that you being happy is what's important. Not to mention that when you do find 'Mr. Right', Grandma can plan the perfect wedding for the two of you instead."

"I'm really not looking forward to this."

"I know, hon, I know. But you're not a horrible person. If you were, you wouldn't be freaking out like you just did over…"

"Over what? Breaking his heart? Hurting him and part of my family? Calling off a beautiful wedding a month before it's supposed to happen?"

"Yeah, I couldn't really find a good way to put that. I know it's going to suck, kid, but you just have to keep telling yourself you're doing the right thing."

Rory sighed again, "I know, Mom, I know. I think I'm going to go and think about what I'm going to say tonight, okay?"

"I understand, kid. Call me afterwards, okay?"

"I will. Bye, Mom."

Rory hung up with her mother and attempted to lose herself in people watching out the window once again. After a few minutes, all the umbrellas started to become a blur. She started thinking about how different the rain seemed in Stars Hollow. More peaceful, somehow. She remembered how she used to love the rain when she was growing up and how she would open her window when it rained at night for the sound and the smell outside. One rainy night, in particular, started to creep into the forefront of her memory.

_It had been raining off and on that day in March. Rory had come straight home from school and had finished her homework so she could read and enjoy the rain. Lorelai was out of town with Alex. The two had gotten an early start to the weekend with Rory's assurance that she would handle Friday night dinner with the Gilmores solo. _

_Rory had lost herself completely in a few books that evening, hardly stopping to take a break when she finished one. She was almost finished with another when a hand appeared on her windowsill followed by the figure of Jess._

"_Jesus!!"_

"_Almost, just lose the 'u'," he had smirked at her when she jumped._

"_Not funny! You scared me! You should know better than to startle someone at their window at night when it's been raining!"_

"_Yeah, well, you should know better than to leave your window open at night when it's been raining. You can't blame the prowler lurking outside when you've practically provided him an open invitation."_

_Rory laughed, having calmed down by this point, "You're the only person in Stars Hollow who lurks. What are you doing here anyway? You must be soaked."_

_Jess just shrugged, "I was out for a walk, looking for a dry spot. Your room seemed as good a spot as any."_

"_What about Luke's? It's dry there, too."_

"_Yeah, but you weren't there."_

"_Aww…are you trying to tell me that you missed me, Jess?"_

"_Give me a break. It was a choice between you and Luke, who do you think I would pick to spend time with?"_

"_Such romance! Be still, my heart!"_

"_Sarcasm does not become you."_

"_It does, however, entertain me."_

"_So, can I come in out of the rain or what? I'm soaked to the bone out here."_

"_Yeah, meet me around back. It's easier to wipe up puddles from the kitchen floor than the carpet."_

_Rory went to let Jess in the back, and he immediately engulfed her in a wet hug, soaking her as much as he was._

"_Jess! Stop! You're getting me all wet!!" Rory laughed as she tried to disentangle herself from his arms._

_Jess held her still and smirked at her choice of words. Rory turned bright red when she realized what she'd said. She stopped her attempt to get away from Jess and focused her eyes anywhere else but at him. _

_When Jess spoke again, his voice seemed to have dropped an octave and had taken on a husky quality, "Huh. Most women wouldn't have a problem with that."_

_Rory immediately tried to back pedal, "I didn't mean…I…what I meant by that was…well, I…"_

_Jess decided to push a little further, "What you meant by that was what exactly?"_

"_I…You're making me flustered!"_

_Jess pulled her even closer and lifted her chin with his finger so he could meet her eyes. They were millimeters apart as he all but whispered, "You want me to stop?"_

_Rory swallowed hard and responded, "I…yes…I mean, no…I mean, I'm cold…I mean, do you want a towel?"_

_Jess loosened his hold on Rory as confusion at her rambling overtook his thinking._

"_What?"_

_Rory took this opportunity to put some distance between them. "Towels, yes, towels are good. Cold rain, wet clothes, warm towels. Be right back!"_

_She was back in a few seconds with 2 oversized towels for both of them. As she handed one to Jess, their eyes met. She quickly looked away, and he reached out and turned her face back to look at him._

"_Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."_

_Rory looked at him and, for the first time, realized just how hot Jess looked when he was soaking wet. Rain droplets made his hair heavy, and it hung just slightly in his face over his eyes. Before she could stop herself, she leaned over and kissed him. What was meant to be a short kiss quickly turned into longer, more passionate kisses. Rory tangled her fingers in Jess' hair as he reached to pull her against him. At the feel of her body against his, Jess moaned her name into the kiss._

_Suddenly, Rory broke from the kiss and stepped back from him. Jess appeared dazed, and it took him a moment to realize what had happened._

_He looked at her questioningly, and she took a deep breath and tried to explain herself._

"_It's just…us alone here, Mom's gone…too tempting, and I'm…I'm not…"_

_Her explanation trailed off as she became embarrassed at her actions._

_Jess reached for her hand slowly as if he was approaching a small, scared animal._

"_Rory, it's okay. I'm not going to push you into anything. You can trust me, okay?"_

_Rory nodded and gave him a small smile. It was at that point that both of them realized the rain had stopped. Jess quickly dried his hair and his clothes, as best he could, with the towel Rory had gotten for him. _

_Once he was drier, he looked at Rory and gave her a tiny smirk, "Sounds like the rain has stopped, so I think I'm just going to go, okay?"_

_Rory nodded again and walked with him to the front door. He kissed her good night and turned to leave. As he got to the bottom of the steps, he heard her call out to him._

"_Jess?"_

"_Yeah?"_

_She met him at the bottom of the steps and pulled him to her. She kissed him as passionately as she knew how to and broke away. Jess' eyes were still closed as he heard her whisper, "It's not you I don't trust. It's me."_

_Before he could respond, she had gone back inside and shut the door._

That had been their initial descent into much more of a physical relationship, really the first one she'd ever had, soon after.

Smiling almost sadly at the memory, Rory checked her watch. When she realized that she'd been in the coffeeshop for almost 2 hours, and the rain had stopped, she decided to pay for her coffee and begin her dreaded walk to her and Logan's apartment.

She had only walked a few blocks, not really paying attention to her surroundings or the people who passed her by when a couple caught her eye. They had obviously been in the rain for some time as they were both completely soaked. Wet clothes clung to both of them. That wasn't what Rory noticed, though. The first thing she noticed, enviably, was how happy and in love the couple looked. The second was that the man was Jess.  
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A/N: Review, please...


	2. Daylight Fading

A Long December

Chapter 2: Daylight Fading

Author: Starcrossedsoulmates

Rating: PG-13, possibly R later

Disclaimer: I don't own the show, the characters or the song titles. Rest assured that if I did own the show or the characters, Season 6 and 7 would've gone a whole lot differently.

Summary: Literati. Post Season 6 – slightly AU, future fic. One month, a lifetime of changes. Maybe this year will be better than the last.

A/N: So many lovely reviews!! They make my heart happy and help to feed my inspiration. Some might view this as somewhat of a filler chapter, but sometimes those are necessary to get to the more interesting parts.  
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_A long December and there's reason to believe  
Maybe this year will be better than the last_  
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Rory came to an abrupt stop on the sidewalk, receiving a few dirty looks from people who had almost knocked into her when she stopped.

Watching Jess with the woman, Rory felt like she was intruding on an intimate scene. The two of them seemed so wrapped up in each other and completely oblivious to the world around them.

She wondered exactly what their relationship was. Was this woman his girlfriend, his fiancée, or even his wife? Rory gulped as an uncomfortable, icy feeling made its way down the back of her neck at that last thought. The very idea that the spontaneous, unpredictable Jess Mariano she had known in her adolescence had potentially settled down made her chest burn.

Realizing that she had enough on her plate to deal with and not wanting to analyze her nostalgic feelings (After all, that's all it was, right? A feeling of nostalgia for when things were simpler in her life?), Rory pressed on to continue her walk to her apartment, hoping that walking would help to clear her head.

As she stepped off the sidewalk to cross the street, her heel unexpectedly broke, and she fell with a cry as she stepped into the crosswalk.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Rory, Jess had noticed her from across the street. Rather, he looked up from the woman he was with and recognized that she looked familiar from a distance. He watched her as she began to cross the street, and as she fell into an unladylike heap in the street, he recognized the walk and the gracelessness to be Rory's.

As he heard her cry out, he left the woman he was beside with a simple whisper of, "Rory…"

No one had stopped to help Rory when she had fallen, and she was trying to find some space in the middle of all the people who were also crossing the street.

All of a sudden, a hand appeared in front of her face. Rory reached for it without a second thought, and as she got up, she found herself face to face with Jess.

She gasped in surprise and immediately let go of his hand, almost causing her to fall again.

Jess reached out and caught her arm, "Careful, there. I don't know that I could be expected to help a damsel in distress twice in a row."

Rory blushed and gave him a small smile, "Thanks, Jess."

As the two stood there awkwardly, both trying to figure out what to say and why it was so awkward as their relationship had been over for 7 years, the woman who had been with Jess appeared at his side.

If she noticed the awkwardness, she didn't let on and instead became concerned over Rory's fall.

"That was quite a nasty spill you took there. Are you okay?"

Rory shook herself out of her daze and looked at the woman. She was the same height as Rory, with long, dark burgundy hair and huge, beautiful violet eyes. She wasn't quite thin but was extremely attractive with all of her curves perfectly placed.

She forced herself to smile at the woman and responded, "Oh, yeah, I'm okay. Clumsy me, I shouldn't be surprised. I should know better than to wear heels this high and try to walk through crowds of people."

The woman looked back and forth between Jess and Rory as if she was waiting for one of them to either introduce her or ask her who she was. After a few minutes, the woman stuck out her hand to Rory and said, "By the way, my name is Sarah, and this is my husband, Jess."

Rory turned white at the mention of _husband_ but forced a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She reached out and shook Sarah's hand, "I'm Rory, and Jess and I actually go way back. We're old friends from Stars Hollow."

Her smile faltered slightly as she turned back to Jess, "I suppose congratulations are in order, then?"

Jess simply rolled his eyes and turned to Sarah, "I thought I told you not to introduce me as your husband to people. Technically, we aren't married yet."

Sarah bumped Jess' side as she rolled her eyes back at him, "You do realize that's strictly a technicality at this point, right? We've been living together for over a year, and the 'official' ceremony is in only a month."

She turned back to Rory and winked at her with a smile, "Men!! Am I right? Everything has to be so specific for them!! Anyway, did you say 'Stars Hollow'?"

Before Rory could respond, she had turned back to Jess, "Isn't that where your uncle lives?"

Jess sighed and answered, "Yeah, Luke is actually engaged to Lorelai, Rory's mom."

Sarah's eyes lit up, "Oh, wow, so that would make you almost cousins, kind of, right?"

She immediately embraced Rory in a huge hug, "It's really great to meet some of Jess's family…or almost family, I guess!!! He's been promising to take me to Stars Hollow to meet his uncle and mom and little sister, but with our busy work schedules and planning for this wedding, I'll be meeting them for the first time at Christmas."

Still reeling from the idea of her and Jess as _cousins_, Rory tried to respond politely to Sarah, "That sounds exciting, or, well, interesting to say the least. When is the wedding?"

"New Year's Eve!!! Doesn't that just sound beautiful?? It's like every year, our anniversary will be a holiday… or the day before one, anyway."

Jess cut in to the conversation, "So, how've you been, Rory?"

Rory laughed, and it sounded fake and uncomfortable, even to her own ears.

"Oh, just fine…you know, staying busy, busy, busy. I'm actually finalizing my own wedding plans, too."

Rory wanted to kick herself as soon as the words exited her mouth, but she couldn't seem to make them stop.

If it was possible, Jess looked even more uncomfortable, which left Sarah to ask the question, "Oh!! When is your wedding?"

"Same day, or night, rather. New Year's Eve…what are the chances, huh?"

Jess nodded slightly and asked quietly, "Same guy?"

Rory took a deep breath and nodded, not trusting herself to answer him.

Sarah pulled her into another hug with exclamations of, "Congratulations!!!"

When Sarah let her go, Jess forced a smile and leaned forward to brush his lips against her cheek. As he pulled back, he managed to breathe out the words, "Yeah…congratulations, Rory."

Rory felt like her cheek was on fire from the simplest touch of Jess' lips. Even in the cold December air, she suddenly felt flushed from head to toe.

Turning back to Sarah, she decided to make a quick exit.

"It was nice to meet you. I actually have to go now. And, uh…take care of yourself, Jess. Good to see you."

Jess' lips quirked into a half-smile, and for one of the first times during their conversation, he met her eyes dead on.

"Yeah, you, too, Rory. I'll see you around."

With those words, Rory turned to leave. Thankful that her apartment was only 8 blocks away, she hobbled down the sidewalk, with one heel considerably shorter than the other.

About 15 minutes later, Rory finally arrived at her building. As soon as she set foot inside, she took off her heels with a sigh of relief.

Ernie, the doorman, greeted her with a tip of his hat and a smile, "Evening, Ms. Gilmore, rough day?"

Rory let out a humorless laugh, "Ernie, that doesn't even describe the half of it."

Ernie smiled sympathetically, "Hope your night will be better, ma'am."

Rory smiled her 'thanks' and muttered, "Doubtful, very doubtful," on her way to the elevator.

On her way up to her apartment (the penthouse, of course, since nothing else would do for a Huntzburger), Rory took a deep breath and practiced what she was going to say when she saw Logan. Her elevator ride was over all too soon, and as Rory approached the door to unlock it, she knew it was now or never.

She entered the apartment, looking for any sign of her (soon to be ex) fiancé.

"Logan?" she called out, looking around for any sign that he was home.

She heard the muffled response of, "One second, Ace. Be right out!"

Rory sank into the plush couch, massaging her feet, and sure enough, a few seconds later, Logan entered the living room, looking handsome and sophisticated in his black tux.

"How long do you need to get ready?" Logan asked, looking at his watch.

Rory looked perplexed, "Ready for what?"

"There's a party tonight, celebrating the newest addition to the Huntzburger newspaper dynasty. I called and left a message for you at work this afternoon. My family expects us to be there, especially since our wedding is a month away. You have 30 minutes to get ready before the car arrives to pick us up," Logan began to look panicked as he took in Rory's disheveled appearance.

Rory let out an exhausted sigh, "Logan, I've had a rough day. I left work early because I actually got everything done and needed to relax from all the overtime I've been working lately. My heel broke, and I fell as I was trying to cross the street. The last thing I want to do tonight is get dressed up and go be with lots of people who I don't even know, or really like. And, about the wedding, I wanted to talk…"

Logan cut her off, "I know, I know…you're exhausted and probably feeling overwhelmed that there's still so much to do before New Year's Eve, but I tell you what. I'll make you a deal. Go to the party tonight, and I'll call in sick to work for you for all next week so you can have some time off to rest and take care of wedding stuff. How does that sound?"

Rory weighed her options of how to respond and decided that breaking off the engagement could wait until after the party that night. Just because she didn't want to marry Logan didn't mean that she wanted to publicly humiliate him. It was going to be bad enough once she broke it off and all the gossip columnists caught wind of it.

Rory forced a smile and replied, "Okay, I'll go tonight, but you don't have to call in sick for me all of next week. Just a couple of days will probably do wonders with getting things done. Give me about 20 minutes, and I'll be ready to go."

With that, Rory hurried into the bedroom (as much as her aching feet would let her) to choose a dress and make herself presentable before the car arrived.  
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A/N: Next chapter will have more drama, and perhaps, the big announcement...positive (or constructive, at least) reviews make me want to update faster :-)


	3. She Don't Want Nobody Near

A Long December

Chapter 3: She Don't Want Nobody Near

Author: Starcrossedsoulmates

Rating: PG-13, possibly R later

Disclaimer: I don't own the show, the characters or the song titles. Rest assured that if I did own the show or the characters, Season 6 and 7 would've gone a whole lot differently.

Summary: Literati. Post Season 6 – slightly AU, future fic. One month, a lifetime of changes. Maybe this year will be better than the last.

A/N: I'm so overwhelmed at all the positive responses, and it's only 20 reviews total so far!! My muse is very happy and therefore brings you the 2nd update in 24 hours  
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._I can't remember the last thing that you said as you were leaving,  
And the days go by so fast.  
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True to her word, Rory stepped out of the bedroom 20 minutes later, looking flawless. She figured if she was going to be forced to socialize with elitists, the least she could do was to contribute to being part of a completely stunning couple. She had chosen one of her favorite formals: a black dress with spaghetti straps, an asymmetrical neck and hem, with small bursts of sapphire sparkles that shone differently, depending on how the light was hitting the dress. She had decided to curl her hair and leave it down, knowing how many compliments she usually received when she wore it that way.

She heard a low whistle as she stepped into the living room and looked up to see that Logan's jaw had dropped. She blushed and smiled innocently, "What?"

Logan came over to take a closer look at his beautiful fiancée. He took both of her hands and looked at her, examining every detail of her and her dress from head to toe.

"I don't know what I did to ever get so lucky, Ace. You're gorgeous, you're intelligent, and you're engaged to be my wife. You're always beautiful, but with this dress especially…everyone is going to be so jealous tonight. The women will be jealous that they probably spent at least twice as long getting ready, and they won't look nearly as stunning as you do. And the men will be jealous that you aren't with them."

Rory blushed even more but still managed to look Logan in the eye. A breath caught in her throat at how much love and admiration she saw in his eyes. She immediately started to feel guilty for wanting to break off their engagement and made a mental note to call her mother during the party tonight for a pep talk.

Luckily, the car arrived a few moments later, so Rory didn't have to figure out how to respond to his emotional affirmation, and Logan didn't think it strange that she stayed silent.

* * *

A few hours later, Rory sighed as she all but collapsed into one of the chairs in the hallway just outside the ballroom. She couldn't remember the last time so much of her body had hurt. Her face hurt from having a smile pasted on her face for the entire evening, her feet and legs hurt from walking around and standing after her fall earlier that day and her heart ached remembering some of the comments she had overheard and received right to her face over the course of the evening.

Mitchum and Shira had greeted Logan and Rory as they entered the ballroom that night. Mitchum had whisked Logan away to make a new contact at a new newspaper that the Huntzburger name was interested in acquiring. Shira had taken it upon herself to introduce Rory to some of her "oldest friends" who had made it out for the event.

Unfortunately, Shira's "oldest friends" had turned out to be complete and total battleaxes. They had taken up at least an hour of Rory's time talking about how important it was for a woman to take care of her appearance, especially the wife-to-be of a Huntzburger, the most important role of "arm candy" at any function.

Rory had been indignant that she was only considered "arm candy" for Logan but hadn't been able to get a defensive word in edgewise. Once she finally did, claiming that Logan loved her for her mind and who she was, Shira and her friends gave each other a disbelieving look. Shira, rather than appeasing Rory's defensive words, simply sighed and, as Rory turned to leave to find Logan, said, "Well, she is a Gilmore, after all. What else could you expect to be taught from a girl who got pregnant at the age of 16?"

Not wanting to cause a scene, Rory had searched for Logan to tell him she needed some air. She finally found him, having a scotch with who, she only assumed, was the contact his father had dragged him to meet when they had arrived. Neither Logan nor this other man saw her approaching, and the closer she got, she overheard the other man say, "Well, I'm afraid I have to admit I just don't like change. For example, whose bright idea was it for women to enter the journalism business? Or business, at all? Don't they realize that their main purpose is supposed to be being barefoot and pregnant at home?"

Rory took a deep breath to control her anger, and before Logan could respond, she replied, "I think I do very well in the journalism business, thank you. In fact, did you know that the number of women reporters and writers is almost more than the men? Perhaps you should rethink that 'hating change' thing, especially if you hope to stay in business for much longer with that kind of Neanderthal thinking."

Rory turned to exit the ballroom, and the man who had been talking to Logan looked flabbergasted.

"Who the hell was that broad?" the man exclaimed, watching Rory exit the ballroom.

Logan took a deep breath and gave the man a very pointed look, "That…is my fiancée."

The man began to chuckle, "Oh, man, you need to keep a better reign over her!! She's liable to start thinking that talking back like that and defending herself to a man is okay!!"

Logan finished the rest of his scotch, set the glass down and turned back to the man with clenched fists, barely disguising his anger.

"Let's just say this, _friend_; you're lucky she got a chance to respond before I did. I don't care if this ruins my father's chances of acquiring that measly little newspaper in Hicksville that you run. You don't talk that way to _**any**_ woman, _**especially**_ someone who's as intelligent as the woman who just walked out that door! Do you understand me?"

The man took a step back with a panicked look on his face, "Yeah, sure, man….uh, sorry about that. I'll just go over…here…now…"

He turned and made his way to the bar quickly, to escape the impending wrath of Logan.

Logan, on the other hand, went to find Rory. On his way, Mitchum stopped him.

"Logan, do you mind telling me what the hell that was?"

Logan practiced taking deep breaths. After dealing with that other jerk, the last thing he wanted was to encounter his father when he was still coming down from being angry.

"What are you referring to, _Dad_?" Logan sarcastically spat the last word at Mitchum.

"First of all, your fiancée's dramatic exit, and second of all, your response to the guy after that. You're supposed to be buttering him up, Logan, not pissing him off. What's the matter with you?"

"With me? What's the matter with me?! You should've heard what he said about women when Rory walked up!! She had every right to do what she did. I don't blame her for being upset. In fact, I think she should've said or done more, like punch the guy in the face, before she walked off!!"

Mitchum gently led Logan to a far corner, "I know, son, I know. I can only imagine what that guy had to say. But you have to understand, that's part of this world. In the world that your mother and I, and you and Honor, were brought up, women are not revered for their intelligence. They are revered for how attractive they are and how much money their husbands have. There are times that I don't like it any more than you do, but you have to learn to pick your battles, Logan. Now, I want you to go apologize to Mr. Hensley for your reaction."

Logan looked as his father disgustedly and shook his head, "No!! I refuse to do that!! If you want his newspaper so badly, you go apologize for me."

With those words, Logan left to find Rory. He didn't have to look too far, as she was standing in the hallway by one of the windows, looking out at the breathtaking New York skyline.

As he approached her, he saw that her shoulders were slightly shaking and knew that she was crying. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Ace…Rory…I'm so sorry for that guy. He's an asshole. Don't worry about him. You know that most everyone else doesn't think like that. You know I don't think like that. Please don't cry. Don't cry over that guy. He's not worth your tears."

Rory turned slightly in his arms, "It's not just him, Logan. I had to listen to your mother's friends talk about how important it was to be 'arm candy', especially for the Huntzburger men, and when I tried to defend myself, your mother wrote it off as me being born to a girl who was 16. I _**hate**_ when people talk about my mom that way, especially when it's people who have never had to work hard for anything in their entire lives. What would any of those women in there have done if they had gotten pregnant at 16, huh? I would bet everything I have in this world that none of them would've handled it as well as my mom did. I'm tired of it, Logan. I feel like your parents and their friends look down on me at every function we go to. And if your parents' friends don't look down on me, it's only a matter of time before Shira lets it slip that I'm 'the granddaughter of Emily and Richard, yes, that one who was born to Emily and Richard's rebellious daughter when she was only 16'. And then, I become the charity case, and I just…I hate it so much!!"

Rory's tears started anew at her last statement. Logan pulled her close and allowed her to cry into his tux.

"I'm so sorry, Ace. I didn't realize that you were so uncomfortable and unhappy at all these events. And I also didn't know that my mom was doing that. Does it help at all that I don't think like they do? I love you, Ace, and if they can't see you for the wonderful woman you are, it's their loss, okay?"

Rory nodded and cried into his tux for a few more minutes. Gently extricating herself from his embrace, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Logan, I really want to talk to you about the wedding…"

Logan put one finger over her lips, "Just give me 10 minutes to tell everyone 'good-bye', and we'll go home, and you can talk to me all you want about our wedding, okay?"

Rory agreed and had gone off in search of somewhere to sit and wait for Logan. Just as she was getting comfortable in the chair, she overheard 2 women talking, and their voices were gradually getting closer.

"Well, she's right, you know. What _do_ you expect from the bastard child of a Hayden and a Gilmore? I can only imagine how much drama was in her life growing up. It's no wonder she reacts to things like she does. Did you see that scene in the ballroom?"

"Yes, I did!! Can you believe that? Of course, during that scene, I was too busy watching Logan to really see what happened with her. Is it growing up that's made him more gorgeous, or is it that he's 'off the market' now?"

Rory heard the two women giggle like schoolgirls and decided to listen to see what more they had to say.

"I don't know how 'off the market' you could consider Logan, though. Like father like son, and you know that Mitchum still keeps a harem of women. I'm sure if you only tried hard enough with Logan, you could…"

At that point, Rory couldn't take any more, and she jumped up and cut the woman off.

"Hello! Logan's fiancée, sitting right here!! And for your information, Logan is _nothing_ like Mitchum. He's faithful to me, and there's nothing you can do to change that. And, as for my mother, how well do you think you would've dealt with getting pregnant at the age of 16, huh? Huh?!"

Both women were too shocked to formulate a response, and Rory stormed off towards the elevator. She had been waiting for a few moments when Logan came up behind her.

"There you are! I came back out to find you, and you were gone. You weren't going to leave without me, were you?"

Rory was unable to muster a smile after the last straw for that evening, so she just turned and met Logan's eyes.

"Ace…what's the matter? I thought you were okay when I left you to go say 'good-bye'. What happened?"

Rory fought to control her sobs and all her words came out in a flood, "I can't do this anymore, Logan. I don't want to be part of this world!! I'm so sorry! I know, you've been so good to me, but I just can't…I can't continue to be part of this."

The elevator thankfully arrived, and Rory quickly entered and pressed the button for the ground floor. She dared a look at Logan before the doors shut, and he looked too shocked to move. Right before the elevator started moving, she heard him yell, "Wait!! Ace, wait!!" But, it was too late, and the elevator had begun its descent to the ground floor.

Rory concentrated on wiping the tears from her cheeks and checked her reflection in the mirrored walls of the elevator. Seeing that her eyeliner was completely gone and her mascara was only slightly smudged, she took a tissue from her purse and wiped under her eyes.

The elevator arrived at the ground floor, and as Rory was departing the building, she was rummaging through her purse for her cell phone to call Lorelai and collided with someone on the sidewalk.

Rory gathered her belongings and began her apologies before she saw the person she'd hit.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!! I wasn't watching where I was going, I…"

Her voice died in her throat as she looked up into a familiar face with a familiar smirk.

"I don't see you for years, and then it's twice in one day, both times with you falling. One might think you had planned this."

Jess helped her up from the sidewalk and took in her appearance. He was struck silent at how beautiful she looked until he saw her eyes. He led her out of the crowd of people and looked at her, concerned.

"Rory, have you been crying?"

Not trusting herself again to speak, she nodded without meeting his eyes.

"What happened?"

She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.

"How bad does it look?"

He smiled, a gentle, almost sad smile, and said, "If I didn't know what you look like after you've been crying, I never would've known."

She nodded, and he pressed once again, "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

She graced him with a small smile and responded, "Over coffee?"

He smiled and nodded as the two made their way to the nearest coffee shop.  
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A/N: Reviews - inspired muse - more chapters - more reviews - vicious cycle…


	4. Time and Time Again

A Long December

Chapter 4: Time and Time Again

Author: Starcrossedsoulmates

Rating: PG-13, possibly R later

Disclaimer: I don't own the show, the characters or the song titles. Rest assured that if I did own the show or the characters, Season 6 and 7 would've gone a whole lot differently.

Summary: Literati. Post Season 6 – slightly AU, future fic. One month, a lifetime of changes. Maybe this year will be better than the last.

A/N: I apologize for the delay in posting a new chapter. I had written this before Thanksgiving, but something about it wasn't reading smoothly. I went back tonight and tweaked some things, so I hope it reads as smoothly as it did in my head.

Tiny details about the time line of the story: Jess did come and find Rory and showed her his book and met Logan, but in my story, Rory never went to Philly to see Jess and the bookstore.

And some responses to reviews: First, thank you all SO much for all the positive feedback I'm getting on this concept and the writing. It makes me happy :-)

Second, to RBDFAN: It's my opinion that if Jess was single and not getting married, it would be too easy for him to fall back into the off-again, on-again situation with Rory, and I think that she deserves to work for it a little more than that.

On with the story…

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
_And it's one more day up in the canyons  
And it's one more night in Hollywood  
If you think that I could be forgiven... I wish you would  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++_

Jess and Rory made their way to a nearby coffee shop, neither really saying anything on the way there, both lost in their own thoughts.

Jess paused in front of a place called _The Mud House_ and asked, "Here okay?"

Rory gave him a small smile, "Sure, great, fine."

The two entered and were seated by a middle-aged woman who looked like she had seen better days. She gave them a knowing smile after they had placed their orders and left to give them their privacy.

"So…," Jess began, not really knowing what to ask.

"So…," Rory responded, not really knowing where to start.

"One of my favorite bookstores is near that place, you know, just in case you were wondering why I was there," Jess said, deciding that the best course of action was to explain himself rather than jump right in to questioning Rory.

"You mean Truncheon Books? I love that place!!" Rory exclaimed, "I'm surprised I didn't run into you there before. I go at least 2 or 3 times a week."

Jess nodded, "Yeah, I'm surprised, too. You would've thought…"

Both sat awkwardly in silence until Jess couldn't take it anymore.

"So, what happened back there?"

Rory laughed humorlessly, "I don't even know where to begin."

Jess smirked at her, "I hear the beginning is the best place to start."

"Seven years later, you're still a smart ass."

"Yes, well, such is the charm of me. Now, answer the question."

"I had a really bad night."

"How about we get to the part I haven't already deduced for myself?"

Rory looked taken aback, "When did you turn into such a pushy asshole?"

Jess sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, "Sorry, I just…I run into you on the street, it's obvious you're upset, you say you want to talk, I bring you here, you know I don't do the small talk thing very well, so just tell me, okay?"

"Well, I got home, and after breaking my heel and having to hobble 8 blocks to get home, Logan informs me when I walk through the door that there's a Huntzburger celebration for their newest newspaper conquer that we have to attend. I hurry to get ready for that, and from the time we walk in until the time I stormed out, it was just… 'a nightmare' doesn't even begin to describe it. First I'm forced to listen to how my role is to be 'arm candy' for Logan, and when I try to defend myself, his mother tries to blame it on my upbringing and 'what can you expect from a girl who was brought up by someone who was only a girl herself?' Then I went to find Logan, and he's talking to this complete jerk of a man who thinks that a woman's rightful place is barefoot and pregnant at home. I let him have a piece of my mind, and then I storm out into the hallway. Logan came and found me, then went back to say his good-byes, and while I'm waiting on him, I hear these two women talking about how my behavior is obviously that of 'the bastard child of a Hayden and a Gilmore' and 'how gorgeous Logan is looking these days' and 'how he's just like his father, willing to cheat and sleep with anyone'. Then Logan came back out, and it all just hit me. Everything that happened tonight isn't something that would've changed if we had gotten married. That's how that world is, and I hate it, Jess. I really hate that world!" Rory finally paused to take a breath in her story.

Jess sat back and took everything in that Rory had just said. He didn't respond for a few long minutes, until something seemed to click and realization hit him.

"What exactly do you mean 'if you had gotten married'?"

Rory took a deep breath, closed her eyes and let the breath out slowly. She dropped her eyes as she said, "Right before I got in the elevator, I told Logan that I wasn't happy and that I didn't want to be part of that world. I broke off our engagement."

Jess's jaw proceeded to drop open at her words.

"Wow, Rory…you…wow…"

Rory looked up and watched Jess looking very much like a fish, opening and closing his mouth every few seconds.

"Speechless?"

Jess let out a chuckle, "To say the least. You walked away from what I'm sure was going to be the Gilmore social event of a lifetime with a groom that they would've handpicked for you. Definitely took some guts. Not that I don't support what you did. I always thought you deserved better than that rich, prick bastard."

Rory shook her head sadly, "To be honest, I don't feel very gutsy right now. I feel…I don't know, exhausted? Emotionally spent? And, I guess starting tomorrow, I have to find a new apartment and pack all my stuff. And I'll probably have to deal with Logan because it's his apartment I'll be moving my stuff out of, and wow, I didn't actually think it was possible to be more tired than I already was, but thinking about all this stuff is making me future tired."

Jess gave her a small grin, "Take a breath, Rory. It's not the greatest thing to have to deal with, but at least you've already taken the biggest step. You'll figure something out, you always do…or, well, you always used to, anyway."

He reached across the table and put his hand on top of hers. Rory smiled back at him and his comforting gesture.

At that moment, the waitress came over with their order. She smiled at them and said, "Excuse me. I don't mean to interrupt, but I was curious at how long the two of you have been together."

Both Jess and Rory looked up, wide-eyed, first at the waitress, then at each other, both resembling a deer caught in headlights.

Rory was the first to respond, "Oh, we're not…" followed very closely by Jess saying, "Yeah, we're not…I'm engaged, she…was…engaged," and Rory finishing up by saying, "My mom is engaged to his uncle…"

The waitress looked confused and said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I just thought…well, you both just look like such a nice couple…really in love, you know? You don't see too much of that anymore these days. Oh, well, I guess I was wrong, then. Enjoy your coffee," and left the two with their orders.

Neither one had much to say after that, and they both finished their coffee quickly and walked back out in the cold. They seemed to be wandering somewhat aimlessly, when Jess began to laugh. It was such a foreign sound to Rory's ears, that at first, the sound startled her.

Once she realized what it was, she smiled, "What's so funny?"

"How awkward was that when the waitress thought we were together?" Jess let out in a burst of laughter.

It was contagious, and Rory found herself beginning to laugh as well, "I know! Geez, you would think that after 7 years and us being in completely separate relationships that it would be a little more obvious that we aren't together, right? I mean, it's not like we have feelings for each other anymore!"

Jess nodded noncommittally and just let the subject drop. After walking a few more blocks, he finally pointed out the obvious.

"Which way are you heading?"

"Oh, um,…well, it looks like I'm not too far away. I'll probably just catch a cab or something."

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather walk? I know it's cold, but sometimes the cold can help clear your mind."

Rory nodded and smiled, "Okay, then, I'll walk. Will you walk with me? After all, I might need someone to catch me if I have another crosswalk and heel debacle."

Jess managed a smile back, "Sure…I can do that."

Luckily, it turned out to only be a few blocks to Logan's -- Rory's soon to be former --apartment. When they arrived outside, Rory looked up at the penthouse, which appeared dark, closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

"Don't want to go in?" Jess asked knowingly.

Rory let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, "Not even a little bit. I'm so tired. I'm in no condition to deal with what happened tonight, and I know when I go up there, I'll have to."

Jess reached out to give her a hug and rubbed her back comfortingly.

"Hey…I know it's going to be hard at first, and I don't envy what you have to deal with when you get up there. But postponing it is only going to make it worse. At least it's a weekend, if you go up there and hash it out with him now, you can crash and sleep and rest for 2 more days."

Rory nodded and started to pull back from him. She looked down as she did and quietly said, "Yeah, you're right." She nodded even more and finally looked up to meet his eyes.

"Thanks, Jess. I really appreciate you listening and walking me home."

Jess gave her a half smile, "No problem. I couldn't very well let you walk home in the cold by yourself after the day and night you've had, now could I?"

Rory smiled, and the two seemed to be lost in each other's gaze momentarily.

After a few moments of silence, Jess spoke quietly, "By the way, you really do look beautiful tonight."

Rory smiled, and they both moved in infinitesimally closer to each other. Rory's eyes started to drift closed, and right before she expected to feel Jess' lips on hers, he pulled back.

"Rory, I can't do this," Jess took a step back from her, "Dammit!! This isn't supposed to happen again!!"

Rory quickly recovered from the surprise of almost kissing, then not kissing, Jess and his reaction. She reached out a hand to touch his shoulder as if calming an upset child.

"It's okay, Jess…"

Jess cut her off and turned and pointed at her, "No, it's _not_ okay!!! This," he gestured between the two of them, "was not supposed to happen again!! I hurt you, I get that, and then you hurt me back. I was okay with it, I had moved on, I met someone else…geez… Sarah! I'm happy with Sarah!! I'm marrying Sarah in a month, _**a month**_, Rory!! And you! You just got out of being engaged tonight, for God's sake!!"

Unfortunately, neither one had noticed the car that pulled up in front of the building or the seemingly very drunk man who stumbled out of the car or the fact that he had heard Jess's entire rant.

"Rory!!" Logan slurred loudly as he tried to make his way to her.

Rory turned and finally noticed Logan standing there. She looked up at the sky and muttered, "Seriously? My day and night weren't bad enough already?"

By that time, Logan had reached Rory and was slurring all his words and speaking incoherently.

Rory managed to catch a few "left me…you left me" and "love you…want to marry you…fuck my parents"

She reached out to steady him and started speaking to him, her main concern being getting him upstairs without too much of a scene, "Okay, Logan, you're drunk right now. Why don't we go upstairs and you can sleep it off, okay? Doesn't that sound like a good plan?"

Logan seemed to sober just enough to speak clearly, "No!! You left me!! You don't want to be with me anymore!!"

Jess was still standing close by, and at that point, Logan looked up and focused on him.

"Hey!! I recognize you!! You're that author guy...the next Hemingway, right? I heard you saying something when I got out of the car! You were talking about you and Rory, weren't you? What wasn't supposed to happen again?!"

Logan started to make his way over to Jess, and Jess tried to keep his distance, not wanting to be the subject of drunken anger.

"Look, man, it was nothing. You're really drunk, so why don't you do what Rory said and just go upstairs, okay?"

Logan's slurred words had turned angry as he stepped even closer to Jess.

"What were you doing with my fiancée, huh?"

Rory tried to pull Logan back, "Logan, nothing happened. Jess is an old friend. You know that! Nothing happened, okay?"

Logan looked back and forth between Jess and Rory, "This is the reason you're leaving me, isn't it? You've been cheating on me with old Jack over here. No, no, I was blind at first, but now I see…isn't that how the song goes? Except there is no sweet sound…"

"Fine!" he spat at Rory, "You're nothing but a heartbreaker anyway!! Broke my heart, that's for damn sure!! I hope you and John will be very happy together!"

By this point, Rory'd had enough of drunk Logan and was quickly losing her patience.

"Jesus, Logan!! His name is Jess! J-E-S-S, okay? And I haven't cheated on you with anyone!! Now, let's just go upstairs, and we'll talk about this more tomorrow!"

Logan finally let himself be led to the door by Rory. Turning back to Jess, Rory mouthed the word, 'Later?'

Jess nodded and turned to find his way home, hoping to clear his own mind on the way there.

* * *

A/N: Reviews are love and inspiration and happiness... 


	5. I'm Not Sleeping

A Long December

Chapter 5: I'm Not Sleeping

Author: Starcrossedsoulmates

Rating: R for this chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own the show, the characters or the song titles. Rest assured that if I did own the show or the characters, Season 6 and 7 would've gone a whole lot differently.

Summary: Literati. Post Season 6 – slightly AU, future fic. One month, a lifetime of changes. Maybe this year will be better than the last.

A/N: Once again, thank you all for lovely reviews!! They truly do feed my muse!

Warning: Sexual Situations in this chapter!! Don't read if you find that kind of thing offensive!!  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
_A long December and there's reason to believe  
Maybe this year will be better than the last  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++_

"Where have you been?" Jess was greeted by a very concerned/angry Sarah, complete with hands on her hips, as he entered their apartment, .

Still not feeling like he had fully grasped what had happened (or almost happened) between him and Rory that night, Jess was in no mood to deal with the questioning he was sure to receive from Sarah. He shrugged and responded, "I told you when I talked to you earlier that I was at Truncheon."

"Yeah, Jess, that was almost 2 hours ago, when you called to tell me you were _**leaving**_ Truncheon and on your way home. So, I repeat, 'where have you been?'"

Jess brushed off the question as he went to the kitchen to find something to eat. With all the drama from his night, he hadn't realized how hungry he was until he got home.

"Something came up. It was no big deal, okay? I'm here now, isn't that what matters?"

"What came up, Jess?! I'll have you know that I cooked for you tonight! I wanted to do something nice for you, so I cooked one of your favorite meals, and now it's ruined because it all got cold while I was sitting here waiting for you to get home!!"

Jess took a deep breath and tried to control his emotions, "It was nothing important, okay? I just got caught up with a book I had been looking for at the store, and…"

He trailed off and was quiet for a few moments as he realized he didn't have the energy to argue with Sarah. He decided that the best course of action was to apologize and try to smooth things over.

Jess walked over to Sarah and put his hands on her hips. He looked down at her as he said, "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to make you worry, and I'm sorry I was so late getting here. If I had known you were making me dinner, I would've been home 3 hours ago."

Sarah fought to stay mad and keep the impending smile off her face as she said, "You only called 2 hours ago to tell me you were on your way home."

She finally allowed Jess to pull her into a hug as he said, "I know, so see, I would've been home before I called to let you know I was coming home. That's how much I'm sorry I was so late getting here."

Sarah relaxed into Jess's arms as she realized it was futile to try to remain angry.

"So, about this dinner…is it still good if you reheat it?"

Sarah laughed as she pulled back just a little, "Probably not. I'm not even sure if it was good in its original form, much less if you add the microwave into the equation."

"Well, I do want to make it up to you, so I'll eat what you cooked, reheated in the microwave and everything."

Sarah smiled as she leaned in to kiss him, "You don't have to eat it. Don't worry about it, okay? We'll order takeout or something instead," her smile turned seductive as she leaned in closer and whispered in Jess's ear, "Plus, I can think of other ways you can make it up to me."

Jess couldn't help his reaction as he unconsciously moaned at the feel of her breath close to his ear and neck. He grabbed her hips and pulled her body flush against his as he plunged his tongue into her mouth, kissing her passionately. During their kiss, though, something made Jess come back to himself. As good as the kiss was, and even as turned on as he was by her words, her kiss and her body, something felt off.

He gently broke off the kiss, and as Sarah took his hand and turned to lead him to their bedroom, he pulled back. She turned and looked at him with a question in her eyes.

"Trust me, Sar, usually there's nothing more that I would want to do, but do you mind if I take a raincheck for tonight? I'm just really tired. Had a long day, and I just want to get some sleep, okay?"

Sarah tried to hide the hurt in her eyes and her voice as she said, "Sure, that's fine, I guess…do you just want to go on to bed now, then?"

"In a few minutes, ok? I'm really hungry, so I'm going to scrounge and see what I can find. If you want to go on, I'll be in there shortly."

Sarah nodded and turned towards their bedroom.

Jess fixed himself a sandwich, and as promised, a short while later, he entered their bedroom for some much needed sleep.

Sarah had already turned her light off and was facing away from him. Once Jess had laid down and turned his own light off, she turned to face him to kiss him good night.

"Good night, Jess. Love you."

"Love you, too, Sar."

They both turned to go to sleep, and Jess proceeded to lose himself in his dreams of the past.

* * *

­­­­­­­­­­­_He was floating in what appeared to be clouds. Different colors greeted him as he floated in and out between the wisps of clouds and the deep blue sky._

_Blue…like her eyes…so blue…_

_Then, the clouds faded away, and he was lying on a bridge. He sat up and looked around. It looked exactly like their bridge, the one they had spent so much time at reading, talking,…doing other things…He got up and walked away from the bridge. The closer he got back to the center of town, he realized there was no one around. No children playing in the square. No Taylor outside of Doose's Market. No Luke in the diner. No Patty at her dance studio. _

_He decided to make his way to Rory's house, in hopes that she would be able to explain what was happening. He was almost to her house when he spotted her from the back. At least, he thought it was her. It looked like a younger Rory from the back. _

"_Rory!" he called, but the girl didn't turn around. She just kept on walking until she walked up to the Gilmore's front door. He had followed, and as she was entering the door, she turned and looked at him, and he saw that it was Rory. She motioned with her hand for him to follow her into the house. He entered her house, and she shut the door behind him. _

"_Why didn't you answer me when I called you?" Jess asked._

_Rory placed her index finger over Jess's lips. "Shhh," she shushed him._

_He tried another question, "Rory, what's going on?"_

_Once again, she placed her index finger over his lips, "Shhh," she shushed him again, "We don't have much time. There's no time to waste. She'll be home soon."_

_Now, Jess was thoroughly confused, "What are you talking about? Who will be home soon? Don't have much time for what?"_

_Instead of answering his questions, Rory reached up and placed her hand on his cheek. She leaned in to kiss him, and their first kiss wasn't much more than the feel of a butterfly landing for a split second._

_Jess was taken aback at how powerful such a gentle touch could be._

"_Rory," he whispered, "What are you doing? What about Sar…"_

_Rory cut him off by kissing him as passionately as a young, inexperienced girl knew how. She pressed her body against his as she kissed him. At first, he was resistant to the kiss, but after a few seconds, he gave in. She gently traced his lips with her tongue. He moaned into the kiss as it began to overwhelm his senses. They both broke apart for air but were quickly rejoined as they began a heated make-out session in the foyer of Rory's house. Jess immediately felt like he had been transported back in time to when he and Rory were 17. _

_He blindly tried to lead them to something sturdy to lean against for support. Luckily, they made their way to the kitchen wall right by Rory's bedroom without knocking into too many things on their way. _

_Jess pressed Rory against the wall as he tried to get as close as possible to her. Suddenly, he felt something trying to wiggle its way in between their bodies. All rational thought flew out of his head as he realized what it was when he felt Rory's hand cupping him through his jeans. _

_He broke away long enough to moan, "Oh, god!!" before he resumed kissing Rory. He began to thrust against her hand, and she, in turn, moaned at the knowledge that she was causing this reaction. _

_Rory managed to break apart from their kiss, and, grabbing his belt loops, led him into her bedroom. She walked backwards to her bed, keeping Jess's body pressed against her the entire way. She lay back on the bed, bringing Jess's body on top of hers. _

_The only thing that registered in Jess's brain was "Rory's bed", and if possible, he became even harder at that thought. _

_Rory looked up at Jess, and to her, it looked like he was in extreme pain._

"_Jess, are you okay?" she asked, concerned._

"_Pants…tight pants," he managed to respond._

_She looked up into his eyes as she reached for his belt. She managed to undo his belt and was working on the button of his jeans when he seemed to realize what she was doing and reached down with one hand to stop her._

"_Rory, I'm probably going to hate myself so much for asking this, but what are you doing?"_

"_You look like you're in pain. I figured this would make it better."_

"_Well, it would, but…well…I guess what I'm trying to say is what happens after that?"_

_Rory looked into Jess's eyes with innocence, since she had never done anything like this before._

"_What do you want to happen?"_

_Jess shook his head and took a few deep breaths, "Bad question to ask me right now. Really bad question to ask me right now."_

_Rory smiled a little and said, "Okay, well, I'll tell you that I'm not ready for sex yet."_

_Jess nodded, "Yet…huh. So does that mean that…?"_

_Rory nodded, "I'll let you know, okay?"_

_Jess nodded again as he fought to hold back a smile, "Fair enough. So, I guess we should probably stop right now?"_

_He began to lift himself off of Rory, but she reached out to stop him. _

"_I know I said I'm not ready to have sex, but I want…I want to feel you."_

_Jess almost came in his pants at hearing her say those words, but he managed to reign in as much control as he could. _

_He nodded and managed to let out, "Okay," in a burst of air._

_She moved to lay on her side to give him more room to stretch out beside her._

_Once they were both situated, she reached for the button and zipper of his jeans again, and once again, he stopped her._

_She looked up at him, exasperated, "Jess, what is it?! I'm starting to think you don't want to do anything with me."_

_Jess looked her in the eye, "Believe me when I say that nothing could be further from the truth. I just want to make sure that you're sure about this. You don't have to do this, okay? Please don't feel like you have to do this."_

_Rory kissed him gently and smiled, "I know I don't have to. I want to do this. I want to see what makes you react. I want to explore. Is that okay?"_

"_Oh, yeah…much, much more than okay, even."_

_Jess finally removed his hands and allowed Rory to finish unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans. He lifted up to help her slide them down just past his boxers to make it easier for her and more comfortable for him. He lay on his back while Rory propped herself up on one elbow, leaving her other hand free to touch._

_She tentatively reached out and placed her palm just below his bellybutton and over the top of his boxers. Almost without touching, she moved her hand from the top of his boxers down the bottom, just skirting over his length. Jess felt little more than the air move his boxers, but it was enough to make him hiss and clench his right hand into a fist._

_Rory pulled back, "Do you want me to stop?"_

_Jess shook his head, "No, I'm okay. It just feels…really…good."_

_Rory smiled, "I thought that was the idea."_

_Jess let out a laugh, "Yes, well, I'm also trying to make this last, too. That's the hard part."_

_Rory smiled and decided to try a seductive move, "Really? Because I thought __**this**__," she grabbed Jess through his boxers, "was the hard part."_

"_Oh, god!!" was all Jess could respond with as Rory grabbed him. _

_She began stroking him through his boxers, alternating with a firm and lighter grip to see how he would respond. After a few minutes, she hadn't heard him say anything else. He had closed his eyes and was biting his lower lip. As she continued to stroke him, she asked softly, "Do you like that?"_

_Jess could do little more than nod and say, "Mm-hmm."_

_A few minutes later, she stopped, and he opened his eyes and looked at her. She was having difficulty meeting his gaze, so he touched her arm and said, "Rory, everything okay?"_

_She nodded and kept her eyes focused on the ground._

"_Okay, what's the matter?"_

_She mumbled something under her breath that he didn't catch, so he asked her to repeat it._

_This time, he was able to make out, "I want to see what it looks like."_

_Jess took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to build up some control. He turned to look at her and nodded, "Okay."_

_She reached in to pull him out through the slit in his boxers, and once again, he almost came at the skin to skin contact. Once she had pulled him through, she traced one finger up one side and down the other, then around the base. After that, she traced her finger around the head, causing another hiss and moan from Jess._

_She pulled back again, "Okay?"_

_Jess nodded, "Just really sensitive."_

_Rory nodded and continued to trace patterns up and down his length with her finger. Just when Jess thought his self-control was hanging by a thread, Rory asked, "What happens when I do this?" and Jess felt her tongue on the head of his penis. _

_Before he could help himself, Jess thrust up with an even louder moan of, "Oh, god!! Yes!! Don't stop!!"_

_Rory asked quietly, "Can I put my mouth around it?"_

_All Jess could do was nod, but before she did, he managed to get out in a rush, "This will probably make me cum. How do you want to handle that?"_

"_I don't know…I guess, well, just let me know before it happens, and I'll decide, okay?"_

_Jess nodded and closed his eyes. Rory attached her mouth back to his swollen head and experimented by swirling her tongue around the tip. _

_Jess continued to moan and began thrusting upwards, trying not to thrust completely into her mouth. _

_After a few minutes, he made the mistake of opening his eyes. The sight before him made him breathless. Rory had tucked her hair behind her ear and had her eyes closed as she was taking more and more of him in her mouth. Jess tangled his left hand in her hair and groaned out, "Oh! Oh my god!! Yes!! YES!!! Oh! Don't stop!! Keep going!!! That's it!! Oh, yeah, that's perfect!!! Oh!!!"_

_Rory turned her head ever so slightly and opened her eyes to meet Jess's gaze. Watching her watching him watching her with her mouth on him was too much for Jess, and that was when he lost control._

"_Oh!! Oh, god!!! This is it!! I'm gonna cum!! Yeah!! Oh, yeah!! Oh, god, RORY!!!!!!!!" Jess roared as Rory made a split second decision to keep him in her mouth as he came._

No sooner had he cum than he heard a voice that woke him from his dreams.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!?!?!?!"

Jess's eyes shot open, and he sat up, to see Sarah, not Rory, with her eyes flashing full of fury with his, now quickly softening penis in her hand. He fell back on his pillow and closed his eyes with a single whispered, "Fuck…"

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A/N: Reviews are love and inspiration to find out what happens next... 


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